Kaimaku! Ajiakappu
Kaimaku! Ajiakappu (開幕！アジアカップ) is the 29th episode of Crush Gear Turbo. It was originally aired in Japan on April 21, 2002. Synopsis The Tobita Club participates in the opening stage of the Asia Cup. Later, Kouya meets Kim Yong-sun, Yuhya's opponent in the Asia Cup four years ago. Yong-sun also introduces his little brother, Kim Yong-dae to Kouya. Yuhya and Yong-sun's younger siblings compete against each other in the first match of the tournament but only one of them will continue the legacy of their respective older brothers. Plot The episode begins with the opening ceremony of the Asia Cup at Singapore wherein 64 Crush Gear teams all over Asia compete each other in the said sport. The host then introduces the players to the Asia Cup commissioner, Gear Taren (Disco Stu in the English dub) and explains further that teams are divided into four blocks of 16 teams and the first four teams with the most points will advance to the semi-finals as well as the finals. It then shifts to the lineup where the Tobita Club are placed in Group C, while the Manganji Dreams in Group A. Kouya then complains about the lineup but Kyousuke stops him in doing so and focus on the qualifying matches instead. Wang Hu then sniffs the floor and spots Kouya and requests for another game (after the previous episode). Kaoru then wonders who Wang Hu is and Kouya replies that he ran into the latter. Kouya disagrees with Wang Hu's suggestion and Ma Liang puts Wang Hu down from Kouya. Lan Fang then tells Wang Hu to fight in their own qualifying matches if he wants to face Kouya again. Lan Fang then meets Kyousuke who knows about the latter's identity by a friend of the former, Chinese Gear Master Yang Tak Min. As the Si Xing Hu Tuan leave and Kyousuke gets attracted over Lan Fang, Kuroudo tells Kyousuke that Lan Fang is a man, since women are portrayed by men in traditional Chinese operas; Kouya then forgets to bring Wang Hu's medallion which the former has in his pocket. It then shifts to the match of the Manganji Dreams with Takeshi using King of the Dragon Fighters, and (as usual) Gaiki disintegrates its opponent. It then shifts to Kouya and Lilika walking in the corridor. Kouya then asks Lilika why he is the only one who has to register for the tournament; Lilika replied that the entire team did when Kouya was away. Lilika then meets Kim Yong-Sun, Yuhya's opponent who pits against him for 23 rounds in the Asia Cup four years ago. As Lilika talks to Kim, Kouya then stares at the little boy (whose identity is later revealed in the episode) beside him . As Lilika introduces King Yong-Sun to Kouya, the latter then remembers the flashback scene in episode 12. Shifting back to the present, Yong-Sun then tells Lilika and Kouya that after his loss against Yuhya, he became a Crush Gear coach of Team Kim. He then thanks Lilika's father for helping him to become persistent during and after that match and thanks Lilika, who tells Yong Sun that her father will not be arriving in the present tournament and she took over his place. Lilika is about to introduce him to Kouya, but Kim already knows about the latter's identity as Yuhya's little brother since Yong-Sun always checks on his opponent's profiles before Gear fighting and how popular Yuhya is. Yong-Sun then introduces Kouya to the little boy beside him. His little brother, Kim Young-Dae, who is a top Gear Fighter in his team. Young-Dae tells Kouya that he will continue his brother's Gear Fighting legacy. Young-Sun apologizes to Lilika regarding his little brother's behavior. Yong-Dae tells Kouya that the latter competes in the Asia Cup for the same reason, to complete his brother's dream of entering the World Cup. It then shifts to the match of the Si Xing Hu Tuan, with Wang Hu competing in the ring and knocks the opponent's Gear out of the ring. In the waiting room, Kouya is amazed over Wang Hu's performance in that round. Crush Mary then announces the next match, the rematch of the Tobita Club and Team Kim. Kouya was shocked when he heard that Team Kim's top player, Kim Young-Dae has not lost even a single match. It then cuts to Kuroudo Gear fighting with a player from Team Kim wherein the former wins. Kaoru compliments his victory and Kyousuke humorously told him that he owes the Gear Master lunch. The next match is the main event, Kouya Marino vs. Kim Young-Dae. The latter then remembers the Asia Cup four years ago where the former's brother won. Yong-Sun then was saddened over his loss. Back to the present, the two argue about the incident with Kouya stating that he will fight until the end and become an Asian Cup champion like his brother and ignores the victories of Yong-Dae which surprised Lilika. At the start of the first round, Assault Panzer attacks Garuda Phoenix by shooting air blasters. Suddenly, Assault Panzer casts a Hurricane Crush-like attack after that. The round ends in a draw after the time expired when Garuda Phoenix is blown out of the ring. Kouya said that it was a close game and luckily survived. At the Tobita Club's team bench, his teammates advice him to use a different strategy. But Kouya says that he will continue his brother's legacy. Lilika then tells Kouya that the match is for his own, and Yuhya wanted it that way (if he were still alive). On the Team Kim's bench, Yong-Dae underestimated Kouya's performance in the first round when he is asked by his brother. The younger Kim added that he is fighting to avenge Yong-Sun's loss in the previous Asia Cup and told him that Yuhya humiliated Yong-Sun in that tournament. But Yong-Sun disagrees and told his brother that he fought in the end with all his strength in that match and he is proud of it. Things get worse as Yong-Dae argues with his brother with the younger brother stated that he saw Yong-Sun crying over his loss. But the older Kim stated that it is natural to react over it since he was saddened and gave all his strength in that match. But despite this, he considered it as the best Gear Fight in his life. Yong-Dae says that he dedicates this match for his brother. Yong-Sun then asks his younger brother his reason for Gear Fighting. Just as round 2 begins, both players mentally remembers their respective advices given to them. Round 2 then begins with Garuda Phoenix pushing Assault Panzer and the two fighters realize the reason why they are Gear Fighters; because they enjoy playing Crush Gear. After the two Gears collide, time expired again resulting in another draw. During the intermission, Lilika tells Kouya that the latter now understands the true purpose of Gear Fighting. While Yong-Sun encourages Yong-Dae and tells that he will be proud of the latter, win or lose. Round 3 then begins with the two boys are now encouraged before releasing their Gears. During the third round, Assault Panzer uses the Hurricane Crush-like attack. However, Garuda Phoenix defends itself by spinning. Although Jirou encourages to keep up with the strategy, Kyousuke states that Garuda Phoenix cannot attack if it keeps on defending the cannon attacks. Garuda Phoenix then casts its VT Spin technique, and plans to attack Assault Panzer in mid-air. The latter also uses a spin attack in mid-air by hitting a spin block. Garuda Phoenix then pushes the artillery-like Crush Gear in spin mode. Kouya and Yong-Dae then compliment each other's performance, and the two Gears start a spin attack again and Assault Panzer stops Garuda Phoenix by firing another air cannon at Garuda Phoenix. However, Kouya's Gear gradually defends the bullets by increasing its speed which Kuroudo notices. Garuda Phoenix then casts its VT Dash technique and successfully throws Assault Panzer (which loses a wheel upon its defeat) out of the ring. Kouya then wins the duel and Kaoru and Wang Hu were happy over Kouya's victory, while Takeshi sarcastically comments that the match was boring. Yong-Dae then breaks down over his loss (similar to his older brother four years ago) over his loss. But Yong-Sun tells his older brother that there are spectators who support him for being a good sport in the match. Yong-Sun is very proud of his younger brother for fighting until the end; although the latter is still in tears and hugs his brother. As the episode ends, Kouya smiles over the Kim brothers' scene as he remembers his older brother and sees a vision of his younger self being hugged by Yuhya. Trivia *This episode shows Garuda Phoenix being thrown out of the ring after the time expired for the first time *This episode is loosely based on the flashback that appeared in episode 12. **The Tobita Club defeated Team Kim. **Yong-Dae breaks down in tears after losing to Kouya, similar to Yong-Sun's reaction after losing to Yuhya in the Asia Cup four years ago. **The only difference is Lilika's reaction in the match. She encouraged Kouya to fight for himself. Whereas in the flashback in episode 12, she tells Yuhya to give up the match due to the latter's low stamina. *The flashback scene in episode 12 reappears in this episode. **The only difference is that in this episode the scene uses normal colors. Unlike in episode 12, where it is slightly grayscaled. *Both Kouya and Young-Dae break the fourth wall in this episode in the English dub. They both (accidentally) mention the anime's title, Crush Gear Turbo before the end of round 2. They both say, "I am a Gear Fighter because... I love Crush Gear Turbo". *It is unknown how Crush Mary responded to Kouya's reaction regarding Yong-Dae's then-undefeated record while the former is on television. *This episode shows a Crush Gear losing its wheel upon its loss for the second time after Shellnite in episode 21 *Garuda Phoenix and Assault Panzer Gear Fighting in spin mode could be a reference to another toy-based anime, Beyblade Category:Episodes (Crush Gear Turbo)